How to Start Your Ethereum Development Career

If you want to be an Ethereum developer, but you don’t know where to start, what tutorials to follow or what courses to take, you will find in this article all the information and resources you need right now. From basic directions and useful links to paid courses with the best investment return and certifications available to you anywhere in the world!

What is an Ethereum Developer?

An Ethereum developer is a person who writes code in order to create decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts which run on the Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum development is a hot market right now, and it’s common for Ethereum development jobs to pay anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000+ a year.

Many people become interested in being an Ethereum or other cryptocurrency developer in different ways. Some people start out as investors who then want to learn more about cryptocurrency. Some start out as IT professionals who are looking for something different. Whatever your background may be, there are development opportunities for you.

Understanding dApp development

DApps are decentralized applications that exist on the Ethereum network. The only difference between a dApp and a standard application is the Ethereum framework. With a dApp, the backend code is run on decentralized peer-to-peer networks as opposed to centralized servers. dApps can have user interfaces and front ends written in any computer language. However, to connect the dApp to the Ethereum blockchain, developers utilize smart contracts.

dApps = front end + smart contracts

All data is stored cryptographically on the blockchain. The decentralized nature of the blockchain prevents hackers from getting user information. The programming language that is used to create smart contracts is called Solidity. Solidity is strongly influenced by both Javascript and Python.

Core EVM Development

Writing programs in Solidity makes them compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine (EVM). The EVM is a runtime environment for Ethereum smart contracts. It is powered by every participant in the peer-to-peer network. The EVM organizes, handles, and processes smart contracts based on how they were programmed. Whether a dApp is written in Javascript, C, Go, or any other programming language, it can be connected to the Ethereum virtual machine, and thus the Ethereum blockchain through Solidity-based smart contracts.

Free Ways To Start Learning

Getting into Ethereum application development is difficult but highly rewarding. Unless you are already an expert full stack developer, learning the different development paths may even overwhelm you, but we’ve created a guide to help you get into learning dApp development for free.

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Learning the basics

As mentioned, starting out in Ethereum development isn’t easy. Of course, to get into the field you’ll need to learn the basics. Here are some steps on how to get into Ethereum development for free:

Learn Solidity

Solidity is a higher-level coding language used for implementing smart contracts. It is the only officially supported language, and it is most similar to JavaScript. You would use Solidity to write applications that simulate financial situations such as a lottery or a loan, which are then used to test out the smart contracts you’ve programmed.

Understand the Concept of Ethereum

Ethereum was formed as an alternative to Bitcoin. Both are based on the same blockchain technology, though Bitcoin’s is more outdated compared to Ethereum. While Bitcoin focused purely on digital transactions, Ethereum wants to be a platform for which developers can create decentralized apps. A decentralized app exists on multiple nodes throughout the blockchain, rather than a physical server. These nodes ensure that the network can never go down, nor can it be interfered with by hackers. Any information shared with the dApp is entirely secure.

dApps are run by smart contracts which are programmable sections of the Ethereum network that you can assign a value. If a specified set of conditions are met, these sections unlock and provide value to the user.

Learn The Truffle Framework

Truffle is the most popular framework for developing on Ethereum. It provides Ethereum developers with a ton of quality-of-life enhancements, sort of like how WordPress makes life easier for web developers.

Free Courses

Paid Courses

When you feel ready to take the next step up from free learning tools, paid courses are the way to go. Of course, with paid courses the goal is to get a good return on investment.

Paid courses have some distinct advantages over free courses. They often go more in-depth and are presented more professionally. With paid courses, a curator can help answer any of your questions. Also, there are often opportunities to make connections and find job opportunities from within the course. Here are some great paid courses to choose from:

B9lab.com

B9lab.com offers three courses: Ethereum 101, Ethereum Developer Course, and Blockchain for Technical Executives and Analysts. Both the Ethereum Developer Course and the Blockchain for Technical Executives courses run for about three months and have about a 40-hour workload. If you score an 80% or higher at the final exam for the course, you will receive an Ethereum blockchain certificate. These certificates are verified through the Ethereum blockchain and can be displayed on places like LinkedIn.

Programmingblockchain.com

Programmingblockchain.com offers a two-day interactive course that is designed to help you learn all of the key concepts for blockchain programming. However, you can pay in cryptocurrency if you’d like. People who attend this course are expected to have intermediate programming knowledge. There are no certifications given for this course, but it does give you access to a large network of cryptocurrency developers who you can use to network.

Price: $4,000 per student payable in BTC.

Author: Jimmy Song. Jimmy is a Bitcoin Core Contributor and a former VP of engineering for Armory. He also contributes regularly to Coindesk, and has a popular Bitcoin blog. Furthermore, Jimmy has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

Blockchain.berkeley.edu

Blockchain.berkeley.edu offers a number of different courses and seminars related to blockchain technology. Many of these courses are on the longer side – about 12 weeks long, and are intensive. Courses include Blockchain Fundamentals Decal and Blockchain Developer Decal. Applications are required for acceptance into these courses.

The Berkeley Blockchain Lab is run by the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET). Steve Chen, founder of the blockchain-based EchoLink, is the co-lead.

B21block.com

B21block.com offers over a thousand mini-courses and lectures. These topics cover things like cryptocurrency development and trading, You can earn a number of different certifications by passing the courses on B21block.com. However, you must pass the exams in order to receive the certifications.

Prices: Most of the courses offered by B21Block.com cost $10. However, they also offer a masterclass course which costs $349.99. There is a free podcast associated with the website that provides relevant information as well.

B21block was founded by Ravinder Deol, who created the Bitcoin Academy – a Bitcoin masterclass course.

Consensys.net

The Consensys Academy offers an eight-week online course for developers followed by a three-day in-person coding event. This course teaches developers things like how to use Solidity to create smart contracts for the Ethereum blockchain. To get into this course, an application is required. People who complete the Consensys Academy Developer Training Course earn a Consensys Academy graduation certificate. These people may also be offered a chance to join the Consensys Academy team.

Consensys offers a $15 Blockchain Basics ebook that is available to everyone. Pricing information is limited to those who apply to learn more about the program. They open it up once a year for new prospects. The information in the Academy has been designed by leading blockchain industry experts.

Certification

Having a certification that proves that you have mastered blockchain coding and other blockchain concepts can be extremely helpful for landing an Ethereum developer job. It demonstrates the fact that you have taken the time to build the development skills necessary, and that an authority has validated your knowledge in this field.

Cryptoconsortium.org

In addition to the certificates from the courses listed above, Cryptoconsortium.org offers certifications for Bitcoin development. However, it will soon offer a certification for Ethereum developers called “Certified Ethereum Developer (CED.)” According to Cryptoconsortium, “A Certified Ethereum Developer is knowledgeable about the Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum transactions, the Solidity programming language and how to use it to write smart contracts on the Ethereum network.” To earn this certificate, students have to pass an exam that covers various aspects of Ethereum development.

B9Lab.com

Ethereum is still extremely new and so is blockchain in general. So, companies who are getting into dApp and smart contract development for the Ethereum blockchain would want to see that job candidates have some sort of credentials to prove their knowledge. Having a B9labs certificate is an excellent way to demonstrate that.

Edureka.co

Edureka.co provides a blockchain training course. If you complete it, you will receive the certification of “Blockchain Expert” from Edureka. This certification is proof that you have mastered the essential concepts involved in blockchain development. It is very similar to the other certificates on this list. However, to receive this certification, you will need to complete multiple classes, each requiring about 20 hours worth of work. After the classes, you should know how to set up your own blockchain, deploy smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, and much more.

Blockchaininstituteoftechnology.com

Blockchaininstituteoftechnology.com offers the “Certified Blockchain Professional” certification. This certificate proves that you have not only completed the course offered by the Blockchain Institute of Technology, but that you are also capable of providing blockchain development for companies on a professional level. This is a good certification to have if you are trying to land a blockchain development job.

Digitalcurrencycouncil.com

Digitalcurrencycouncil.com offers a “DCC Certification.” This certification is given to people who take the DCC course, and successfully pass the DCC exam. The Digital Currency Council claims that their certification proves that you are a “leader and respected authority in the Bitcoin ecosystem.” So, this certificate is better for people who would like to go into Bitcoin development as opposed to Ethereum development. If this is for you, or if you would like to prove your expertise in both Bitcoin and Ethereum, a DCC certificate would be a nice supplement to any Ethereum certificates that you earn.

Ethereum and blockchain certificates are especially beneficial right now considering the fact that most colleges and universities do not offer traditional a bachelor’s or master’s degree in things like Ethereum development. In the near future, however, there is a good chance that they will. But for the time being, most do not, even if they do offer a course or two here and there about blockchain technology. Having an official certification from Cryptoconsortium, B9labs, or the other places listed in this article can really help you stand out against other developers for Ethereum development positions.

Conclusion

Becoming an Ethereum developer could be an excellent career choice for you. Ethereum is one of the blockchains that has the most potential to grow rapidly in the near future. Unlike many other blockchains, Ethereum is designed to be a platform for helping dApps to run. This makes it function as a sort of hub of computing activity. There are potentially vast opportunities in this field.

If you want to be an Ethereum developer, but you don’t know how to write code for the Ethereum platform, you can take any of the courses listed in this article. Whether it is a free course or a paid course, all of the sources listed above can help you get your Ethereum development education underway. You can pass exams and win certifications to prove your knowledge to the world. In the near future, tens or even hundreds of thousands of Ethereum developers could be needed in the job market. You could be one of them if you complete your training and get properly certified.